Translation awards acknowledge translator’s contribution to literary culture and offer visibility for their profession among publishers and readers. Browse awards here.
Established in 1996 and funded by the German government, the Helen & Kurt Wolff Translator’s Prize is awarded each year to honor an outstanding literary translation from German into English published in the USA the previous year. The prizewinning translator receives $10,000.
Since 1988, the German Literature Fund has endowed the Paul Celan Prize, which was initially awarded for outstanding literary translations from French into German. Since 1994, the prize has been open to all languages and honors mainly German translators. The prize is awarded at the Frankfurt Book Fair and is currently endowed with 20000 EUR.
The Kakehashi Literature Award has been awarded every two years since 2013 by the Goethe-Institut Tokyo and the Merck company to promote contemporary German literature and its translation into Japanese. Endowed with a total of 20,000 EUR, the Award honors outstanding authors whose literary work is to be discovered by a Japanese readership, as well as translators and publishers for their special role in cultural exchange.
Established in 2009 and founded by the Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House of the Cultures of the World) and the Elementarteilchen foundation, the International Literature Award honors an outstanding work of contemporary international literature and its translation into German. The prize is endowed with 35,000 EUR and is shared between author and translator.
